Gas-producer.



No. 705,840. Patented 1u|y 29', |902.

.1..A HERRICK. GASr Pnonuce.

jmppiication med my 26, 1901.)

(N0 Model.)

i 5mm! VMT: 13

3 I al W H LUQH MUM HUUHHHHH Y .7 i W f2 A TH: Nonms PETERS uo,PNoLrauTHu, WASHINGTON, u. c,

UNITED STATES f A PATENT OFFICE.E

JAMES A. HERRICK, OFJENKINTOVVN, PENNSYLVANIA.l

eas-PRODUCER.

sPEoIcA'rIoN forming part afnemers Patent No; 705,840, dated July 29,1902. Application led July 26, `1901. Serial No. 69,840. (No model.)

T0 allwhom, it may concern:

j Be itknown thatI, JAMES A. HERRICK, a.

citizen of the United States, residing in Jenj kintown, Pennsylvania,have invented cer-` tain Improvements in Gas-Producers,of which thefollowing is a specification.

One object of my invention is to so construct a gas-producer as toprovide for supplying to the mass of fuel therein air in large volume,but so uniformly distributed thro ughout the mass as to have nodisrupting action upon any portion of the same by reason of itspressure, further objects being to regulate the blast as desired and toprevent anyclogging of the blast-openings.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of thelower portion of a gas-producer constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is a` sectional plan view on the line a a, Fig. `1;and Fig. 3 is a trans verse section on theline bb, Fig. 1.

In Fig. l the body ofthe producer is represented at 1, this body beingotcircular, square, or other suitable'form in cross-section and beingcomposed, by preference, of an outer casing of sheet metal with a liningof rebrick or other refractory material, the whole being supported uponsuitable columns or legs 2, which are mounted in a pit 3 beneath theproducer, the lower portion of thecasing being continued in the form ofan inverted truncated cone 2a down into this pit, which,

when filled with water serves to seal said lower portion `of the casingand prevent the escape of air or gas therefrom without interfering withthe free downward discharge of the ashes, which can be removed from thepit by means of shovels, rakes, or other suitable implements.

Projecting through the lower portion of the casing of the producer are aseries of twyerboxes 4, three of` which are shown in `the presentinstance, these twyer-boxes having, by preference, straight sides,inclined tops, and open bottoms and meeting at the center, where theyaresupported by means of a hollow casing 5, resting upon a centralpedestal 6 in the ash-pit, this hollow casing being connected to anysuitable form 'of injector 7 wherebyair may be blown into the hollow.

twyer-boxes, preference being given to that form of injector in which asteam-blast is used to incite the low of air-in order that the air asdelivered to the mass of fuel in the producer may be intermixed withvolumes of steam.

The sides of the twyer-boxes et have therein slots, perforations, orother openings for the escape of the air, the openings shown in thepresent instance being vertical slots, and the effective area of thesevertical slots can be varied by adjustment of sliding dampers 9,suitably mounted on the outer side of each of the twyer-boxeszand havingslots coinciding with those in said sides, whereby an adjustment ofthese dampers maycover or uncover the slots in the twyer-boxes to anydesired extent, and thus regulate the edective area -ofdischarge for theair through said twyerboxes. The slotted dampers may, if desired, belocated on the inner sides of the twyerboxes instead of on the outersides of the same.

-.Each of the twyer-boxes has at the outer end a door or covenlO,through which access may be had to the interior of the box for cleaningor other purposes, and the lower portion of the casing of the producerhas alongside of each twyer-box a socket 11 for the reception of atire-brick 12J or other suitable refractory plug, on the removal ofwhich access may be had to the outer side of the twyerboxesand theirdampers for the purpose of removing` any. ashes orcinders which may beadhering thereto and which would otherwise have a tendency to prevent orinterfere with the freedom of escape of the air.

By forming the openings in the sides of the twyer-boxes they are not soliable to become clogged as if theylwere formed in the top of a hollowgrate, and by making the twyerboxes open at the bottom the accumulationin the said twyer-boxes of any yashes which may find their way throughthe side openings is prevented and the clogging of the boxes by suchaccumulations is rendered impossible.

It will be understood that the twyer-boxes are embedded in the ashes inthe lower portion of the producer, and these ashes close in beneath thetwyer-boxes, so that no air can escape from either box without enteringthe mass of ashes and then rising through the same into the mass ofincandescent fuel above IOO the same, the uniform distribution of theairescape openings of the twyer-boxes throughout the mass of ashesinsuring a thorough dissemination of the air throughout all portions ofthe mass of fuel in the producer without the employment of a powerfulblast. Hence air in large volume can be passed through the producer andcorrespondinglylarge volumes of gas can be produced without theemployment of any such pressure as will tend to disrupt the mass ofincandescent fuel and form passages in the same through which air canflow without taking up the proper amount of carbon to properly convertit into gas or which might supply such an amount of oxygen as to causeignition and burning of the gas in the producer.

The supporting-legs of the producer conform throughout a portion oftheir length to the inverted conical form of the lower portion of theproducer-casing, so that the ashpit need be but little, if any, greaterin diameter than the body of the producer. Hence the series of producerscan be located comparatively close together, and economy of space isthus insured.

The body of the producer has the usual lateral poke-holes 13.

Any known means of introducing air into the hollow tWyer-boxes of ,theproducer may be employed in carrying out my invention, the advantage ofintroducing the air through a central supply-pipe communicating witheach of the twyer-boxes being that it provides for the maintenance oflike pressure in each box.

By locating the twyer-boxes et so that the bottoms of the same are aconsiderable distance above the bottom of the ash-hopper a relativelycompacted body of ashes intervenes between the bottoms of thetwyer-boxes and the bottom of the hopper, and this body of ashes may inmany cases be relied upon to prevent escape of air or gas from thebottom of the hopper, thereby rendering the use of a water seal or otherclosure atthat point unnecessary. Even when the water seal is used thisrelatively compact body of ashes between the bottoms of the twyer-boXesand the bottom of the hopper will serve to aid the water seal inpreventing escape of air or gas at the bottom of the hopper. As thebottom of the ash-hopper is some distance above the bottom of thesealing-pit upon which the mass of ashes rests, ready access to allportions of said mass of ashes between such support and the bottom ofthe hopper is permitted, thus providing for the ready clearing away ofthe ashes.

I am awarethat gas-producers have been provided with a center airdelivery pipe which receives its supply of air through lateral branchesextending through the side walls of the ash-hopper; but such air-blastpipe discharges at its upper end, which is considerably above the topsof the lateral airsupplying branches, whereas in my producer the airescapes directly from the sides or bottom or both sides and bottom ofthese laterallyextending portions of the tWyer-box structure. Hence afreer escape of air is insured, the same is more uniformly distributedthan when supplied by a central pipe, and a lower pressure can beemployed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent- 1. The combination of the body of a gasproducer, havingan ash-hopper at the base of the same, with a twyer-box structureprojecting into the ash-hopper from the sides of the same, saidtwyer-box structure being located above the bottom of the hopper so asto provide a sealing-body of ashes in the hopper below the twyer-boXstructure, the laterallyextending portions of the twyer-box structurehaving openings therein for the escape of air into the mass of ashessurrounding the same, and the bottom of the hopper being some distanceabove the ash-supporting bed or platform whereby access to the body ofashes at all points between said ash-supporting bed and the bottom ofthe hopper is permitted, substantially as specified.

2. The combination of the body of agasproducer having an ash-hopper atthe bottom,

a sealing-pit into which said ash-hopper projects and which extendsentirely around said hopper, and a twyer-box structure projectinglaterally into the producer and located above the top of the sealing-pitwhereby the latter is accessible at all points for the removal of ashes,substantially as specified.

3. The combination of the body of a gasproducer having an ash-hopper atthe bottom with a twyer-box structure projecting laterally into saidhopper from the sides of the same, said twyer-box structure havingopenings both in its sides and bottom for the escape of air, and thebottom of said structure being above the bottom of the ash-hopper,substantially as specified.

4. The combination of the body of a gasproducer with a series oftwyer-boxes projecting laterally into said producer from the sides ofthe same, the laterally-extending portions of said twyer-boxes havingopenings through which the air can escape and an airinjectorcommunicating with said twyer-boXes where they meet at the center of theproducer, substantially as speciied.

5. The combination of a gas-producer, with a twyer-box structure locatedin the lower portion of the producer and having sides with openingsthrough which the air can escape, damper-plates movable on said sidesof' the twyer-boxes so as to vary the area of the escape-openingstherein, and means for introducing air under pressure into saidtwyerboxes, substantially as specified.

6. A gas-producer having in the lower portion of the same a twyer-boxstructure having laterally-extending portions with air-escape openingstherein, in combination with IOO means for introducing `air underpressure into said twyer box structure, and refractory blocks mountedalongside of the laterally-ex# tending portions of the twyer-boxstructure, and removable in order to permit access to the sides of saidtWyer-boxes for cleaning purposes, substantiallyas specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

JAMES A. HERRICK.

Witnesses:

MURRAY C. BOYER, Jos. H. KLEIN.

